Versatile
urban
dance-pop
singer
Rihanna
gracefully avoids the sophomore slump with
A Girl Like Me
, a less
tropical
-flavored, more
effort than her sun-and-fun debut. Then again, it's hard to be an effervescent island goddess 24-7 when your love life has suffered a crushing blow, something inferred by the numerous heartbreaking
ballads
included, all of them elegant, mature, and displaying artistic growth. Fans of her brilliant single
"Pon de Replay"
need not worry, though, as the album kicks off with its equal. Bursting out of the speakers,
"SOS"
is a sexy
club
tune that bites the bleepy riff from
Soft Cell
's
"Tainted Love"
in a very modern, very exciting mash-up fashion. The crunchy
reggae
of
"Kisses Don't Lie"
offers a less revolutionary alternative to
Damien Marley
"Welcome to Jamrock."
Then the album gets bolder and seamlessly bounces from genre to genre. Attempting things that would make lesser artists crumble,
goes from a
film noir
song that elegantly uses murder as a metaphor for cheating (
"Unfaithful"
) to an easy-flowing weekend cruiser (
"We Ride"
). Even more stunning is the jump from the 2006 prom-song candidate
"Final Goodbye"
to the totally juiced
"Break It Off,"
where she gives guest star and
dancehall
king
Sean Paul
some serious competition. The good but not great redo of
"If It's Lovin' That You Want"
with
Corey Gunz
is the only track approaching filler, but it's clearly marked "bonus," so it's a wash. Executive produced by
Jay-Z
,
is unsurprisingly polished, yet a richer experience than you'd expect from a singer responsible for the summer jam of 2005, arguably 2006. ~ David Jeffries